MRFF 2026 Genomics Health Futures

Key dates

• Proposals open in Sapphire: 11 March 2026
• Funding Application Certification opens in MyResearch: 8 July 2026
• UQ R&I NOI Close: 22 July 2026
• Minimum data requirements in Sapphire: 5pm ACT time 22 July 2026
• Applications due to UQ R&I: 22 July 2026
• Applications close: 5pm ACT time 19 August 2026

Please note, this round is part of a MyResearch pilot. Role based instructions, guides and videos for all participants are available on the MyResearch website at MyResearch Latest Updates. Email my-research-help@uq.edu.au for system troubleshooting. 

Overview

This grant opportunity will provide financial assistance to support medical research and medical innovation projects that:

• Stream 1 (Targeted Call for Research): develop genomic tools and technologies to identify genetic predisposition to cancer and improve screening and targeted intervention. Focus on increased access to genomic testing and on liquid biopsy.
• Stream 2 (Targeted Call for Research): conduct scalable research to enhance novel gene discoveries, increase diagnostic rates and enable disease modelling to support development of targeted therapies or prevention strategies. Research projects funded by this stream should:
  • Stratify ways to elucidate the impact of variants of unknown significance in known and novel genes
  • Develop the application of gene-specific platforms (including multi-omics) to new and/or established cohorts
• Stream 3 (Incubator): develop novel methods for using polygenic risk scores to identify subgroups of the population at high risk of common and complex diseases. Funding under Stream 3 is available as follows:
  • Topic A: Cardiovascular disease
  • Topic B: Diabetes
  • Topic C: Other common and/or complex diseases
• Stream 4 (Incubator): develop novel methods for improving accuracy and usefulness of polygenic risk scores to stratify people with common cancers for surveillance and treatment. Funding under Stream 4 is available as follows:
  • Topic A: Breast cancer
  • Topic B: Colorectal cancer
  • Topic C: Prostate cancer
  • Topic D: Other common cancers
• Stream 5 (Targeted Call for Research): undertake research to enhance or streamline uptake of clinical genomics into practice. Research conducted will:
  • Use best practice implementation science to identify barriers and system changes required for effective implementation
  • Focus on identified populations, geographical locations or health care settings where the proposed research could make the most difference
• Stream 6 (Accelerator): develop and maintain infrastructure to support research collaboration by enabling data sharing, portability, longevity and connectivity of analysis across Australia. Research conducted should address emerging ethical, legal and social issues associated with the governance of clinical and genomic datasets with particular focus on the application of advanced analytics (e.g. artificial intelligence) to enhance the diagnostic utility of genomics.

Streams 1, 2 and 5 – intended to support projects that progress research that addresses a specific health need.

Streams 3 and 4 - intended to support early stage, small scale research projects that seek to assess the potential and feasibility of novel strategies to address critical or intractable health issues.

Stream 6 – intended to support large-scale interdisciplinary research programs that drive implementation of substantial improvements to health care and/or health system effectiveness.

Applicants must ensure their proposed research meets the intended outcome of this grant opportunity outlined below, research that is not relevant to the desired outcomes will be deemed uncompetitive.

• Stream 1: increasing access to genomic testing  
• Stream 2: building capacity for turning genomic knowledge into effective diagnosis, prevention and targeted therapies
•  Stream 3: enhancing risk prediction to support early intervention for people with common and complex diseases
• Stream 4: enhancing risk prediction to support early intervention for people with cancer
• Stream 5: improving access to effective, genomic-based diagnostic testing and therapies in health care
• Stream 6: improving the diagnostic utility of genomic data through enhanced data sharing

The amount available for a single grant in each Stream are as follows:

• Stream 1: no minimum, maximum $2.5 million
• Stream 2: no minimum, maximum $5.0 million
• Stream 3: no minimum, maximum $1.0 million
• Stream 4: no minimum, maximum $1.0 million
• Stream 5: no minimum, maximum $3.0 million
• Stream 6: no maximum, but grants cannot exceed the amount of available funds for the Stream.

How to Apply

Step 1: Internal Notice of Intent (NOI) 

All researchers intending to submit an MRFF application are required to submit an internal Notice of Intent. NOIs will be collated centrally and distributed to Faculties and Institutes in order to provide maximum support to the UQ research community.

Submit UQ Notice of Intent

Step 2. Sapphire updates and scheme reading

• Register for Sapphire and update your full profile 'My Profile and CV'. All Chief Investigators (CI) and Associate Investigators (AI) will need to have an active Sapphire account. Any team members without a Sapphire account should request one as early as possible. The NHMRC require at least three working days to create new Sapphire accounts. 
• Download guidelines and application templates from GrantConnect. Familiarise yourself with the key MRFF, NHMRC and UQ documentation (see below). 

Step 3. Completing the application

• Log into Sapphire and complete the application. Sections of the application will validate as they are completed.
• Ensure all required data is entered into the application before the Minimum Data deadline (see Key dates above). Applications that do not meet this deadline will not be able to proceed.

Step 4. UQ R&I internal review and feedback

• Ahead of internal review, ensure all online components are complete and valid in Sapphire and CIA has initiated the Certification process. Application errors will be signalled and can be corrected during the Certification stage.
• To initiate internal review, email the UQ Research Office at mrffgrants@research.uq.edu.au
• Please ensure you have completed your Funding Application Certification in MyResearch
• UQ Research Office will review your application and provide you with feedback as requested in NOI (eligibility & compliance; refinement; or content grantscraft).

Step 5. Final submission

• When your application is complete and fully compliant, the UQ Research Office will submit the application to the NHMRC through Sapphire.

Letters of Support

UQ Letters

Most MRFF applications administered in Sapphire will not require a letter of support from UQ. This is usually only necessary if UQ is committing cash to the project.

We ask that UQ researchers submit draft letters for signing to us no later than two weeks before the external closing date. We strongly recommend working with your local school/institute research professionals to complete this process.

Partner Letters

We encourage applicants to provide drafts of partner letters of support for review by the Research office before organising their final signature to ensure eligibility and compliance. A template partner letter of support is provided below.

Non-UQ Lead Applications

• The administering organisation should provide you with a draft letter of support. We recommend you work with your local research support to complete the letter. 
• Complete and sign an MRFF Funding Application Certification form (see below), and get it countersigned by your Head of School/Institute.
• Submit both to mrffgrants@research.uq.edu.au, along with evidence for any additional co-contributions.

Readership and researcher support

Key documents

Before applying, please review the full suite of documents available from GrantConnect, the Australian Government grants information system and:

• Grant Connect GO8294   (Guidelines and application templates should be downloaded from here before commencing application) 
• MRFF Webpage 
• MRFF Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Strategy 2020-21 to 2023-24

NHMRC

• NHMRC Research Classification Guides
• Sapphire Knowledge Base